I am finding working at the State Library to be a great decision. I am remaining in a "flow" without imposing any preconceptions or expectations for my time. I am happy coming onto the second floor twice a week doing whatever. I think I am in favor of this because it is a microcosm of what going into where I want to go with this education: an environment that will throw me alien things to figure out, manipulate, and turn back to my employer, patron or client (depending on my level of independence) something of value. I am going to have to learn CONTENTdm from OCLC faster than my coursework would permit me, which I welcome. The practical, hands-on tackling of these issues is a more valuable experience to me than reading than intellectually touching on it but never getting down and doing it. I also find my level of enthusiasm is high, because for one it is fun but another is that I want to raise my competencies and cooperation to the standards around me.
I gained insight into administrative challenges of how to bring diverse institutions into a shared line of operation. SC Lends, a confederation of different libraries across the state using Evergreen systems, is a challenge in coordination as their divergent operations and levels of expertise interfere. For instance, Catherine Morgan pointed out an administrator who, ignorant of basic database structures, imposed a bit of chaos on the shared systems which necessitated correction. Technology plans/proposals required of many institutions receiving state funding show wild differences in how to match reporting on required key points with their presentation skills/sophistication. Some flatly fail, but the staffing and training of some librarians in the rural libraries who operate on hair-thin budgets makes any attempt heroic, in a way.
